MINNEAPOLIS - When a panel of ESPN's basketball experts got together before the season to discuss the state of the sport, the chat predictably seemed to stagnate on the complicated topic of the game's best power forward.

The pundits went on to favorably mention Ryan Anderson, Chris Bosh, Anthony Davis, Kenneth Faried, Al Horford, Serge Ibaka and David West. They finally got around to talking about Warriors power forward David Lee, but they waited until the topic shifted to the league's most overrated at the position.

Despite being a two-time All-Star and leading the league in double-doubles as the Warriors made the playoffs last season, Lee still is overlooked in most league-wide conversations about the loaded power-forward position.

That will become increasingly evident this week as Lee plays against Love on Wednesday, Duncan on Friday and Randolph on Saturday. In each game, Lee will be considered the underdog in the power forward matchup.

"Especially in the Western Conference, it's a challenge every night, but I'd like to think that the guys I'm playing against have a challenge in front of them, as well," Lee said. "It's a constant battle, and one of the more fun parts of being in the NBA is going up against other elite players and finding ways to help your team win."

Lee has 114 games with at least 20 points and 10 rebounds, has shot better than 50 percent from the floor in all eight of his NBA seasons, and is one of only three players to average at least 16 points and nine rebounds each of the past five seasons.

The two biggest gripes against Lee during his career have been that he's little more than a stat-padder on bad teams and that his lackluster defense basically washes out his elite offensive numbers. He stalled his critics about the first question in 2012-13 and plans to take care of the second this season.

The 6-foot-9, 240-pounder was the only player in the league to average at least 18 points, 11 rebounds and three assists last season. More importantly, Lee's leadership helped the team build chemistry off the court, and his fourth-quarter play helped them clinch the franchise's second playoff berth since 1993-94.

"He's an All-Star, so I don't think there's any debate that he's certainly in" the group of top power forwards, Warriors head coach Mark Jackson said. "I think he has changed some perceptions, but some people - no matter what type of data you have - are going to stick with the lazy reporting. In spite of the facts, they're still going to go with what they believe."

Those people might say that Lee was an All-Star last season only because of a perfect storm. Duncan was considered the Western Conference's reserve center, and Gasol, Love and Nowitzki were all hurt.

Those people might also point to Lee's defense, which isn't nearly in the class of Davis' or Ibaka's. That's a point that Lee concedes, and he worked all summer to get himself in better shape.

His thinking was that if he was more fit, he could still shoulder his usual offensive load, still chase rebounds like a maniac and still have enough energy to body up defensively in the post and offer his share of extra-effort plays on that end of the court.

"He's done that," Jackson said before Lee held Philadelphia's Thaddeus Young to six points on 3-of-10 shooting and two rebounds. "He's improving. The challenge is sustaining it, but he's playing very physical, paying attention to detail, and he's always been a high-IQ guy on both sides of the basketball."

The league leaders in assists per games, the Warriors have led by at least 27 points in each of their three wins and have held on to win each of those games by double digits. They've also held opponents to less than 40 percent field-goal shooting in those contests.

Lee plays a major role in each of those stats, but like everyone else, he wants even more.

"Everyone knew I could put up stats, but to be able to do it on a winning team and being able to show that my play could help take a team to the playoffs, I think that changed a lot of people's perceptions," he said. "There are people who still expect more out of me, and I'm one of those people."

Wednesday's game

Of note: Harrison Barnes practiced Tuesday for the first time since leaving an exhibition game Oct. 7 because of left foot inflammation. He primarily did light, three-on-three drills, and the Warriors will see how the injury reacts to the added workload before deciding if he's able to make his season debut Wednesday. ... Minnesota power forward Kevin Love was named Western Conference Player of the Week on Monday after averaging 29.7 points, 14.7 rebounds and 3.7 assists in a 3-0 start. ... The Warriors have won or split the season series against the Timberwolves each of the past eight seasons, including sweeping the four meetings in 2012-13. ... The Warriors have won four straight and eight of their past nine games in Minnesota.

- Rusty Simmons

Among the best

Warriors power forward David Lee is trending toward putting up stats that will compare to some of the best who ever played the position and has already posted better numbers than most of his contemporaries.